Sleeping Sound Of Snow
by Kari Kurofai
Summary: in the snow, there is only complete silence, even to the most powerful of ears. Tigerheart/Dovepaw


**Sleeping Sound Of Snow**

Snow muffled every noise in the forest. Pawsteps were near inaudible apart from the soft crunching sound they made on the thicker areas of ice crystals. The sound of a bird's wing beats was swallowed up by the white that blanketed the ground and trees. And mice could hide under the flakes and never be heard in their long winter's sleep. Leaf-bare was a hard season for every cat, one Dovepaw had never experienced before. It would only be harder this year after the recent drought. The prey wouldn't have had time to replenish. There would be less food than ever before, and the young apprentice was already dreading the sickness that would spread easily through the clans because of it.

But the silence that lay among the blanketed forest was what unnerved her the most. She was used to being able to hear every tiny sound around the lake. Every pawstep and whispered secret. But now, there was only the eerie quiet all around. If she strained her ears, she could make out the sounds of the Thunderclan camp behind her, but that was reaching as far as she could go in these circumstances.

Although the snow inhibited her power, that didn't mean she didn't enjoy it. She ran headlong through the slowly drifting flakes, scattering plumes of white into the air as she skidded on the slick surface of the snow. It was beautiful, the way the forest was so silent, the way nothing moved, and hardly anything even breathed. She could hide easily amidst the drifts and never be noticed with her silver-gray pelt. Like how a real dove grew white feathers when the first snow fell.

She laughed as she tripped over her own paws, landing in a pile of snow and sending up a flurry of white in her wake. Her fur was thicker than most cats, just like her grandfather's, so she wasn't cold in the slightest. Lionblaze was perfectly fine with letting her wander off on her own, he trusted her as much as he did his brother, and that was saying a lot.

Dovepaw would be lying if she said she'd never noticed the way he looked at almost every other cat with uncertainty in his eyes. The mental scars he carried were clear to her. He had been betrayed by cats he trusted. And not just once, but three times. She could guess two of the cats with ease. Squirrelflight, who had lied and played the part of their mother. And his sister, long gone now, but who had done something so horrible Lionblaze refused to speak of it. The third . . . She knew that the third cat was also long gone by now. Otherwise, she'd know who it was. It was this last cat that had scarred her mentor the worst, she could see it in his eyes, the way he'd looked at the fire that one day in camp. The pure terror, and the faint spark of betrayal in his gaze, as if he was lost in a memory she couldn't reach.

The young apprentice pulled herself out of the snowdrift, sneezing at the flakes that clung persistently to her nose. Lionblaze would start to worry if she lingered out here for much longer. She flicked her ears around, listening to the pure and unbroken silence that covered up her senses. It was peaceful, the way she didn't have to hear everything, but it also frightened her. She was close to the Shadowclan border, some cat could ambush her and she would be just as impaired as any other cat in her clan in that sort of situation.

She flinched as she heard the crunch of snow under paws somewhere behind her, and immediately launched herself forward, deeper into Thunderclan territory. She could taste her own fear as she ran, they wouldn't dare cross the border, would they? Heavy paws bowled her over, and her screech of terror was muffled by the snow as the attacker pushed her into another drift.

Spitting out the quickly melting flakes she had gotten in her mouth, she stared up at the other cat, her shock and fear quickly fading away as fast as the snow beneath them. Amber eyes and dark tabby-brown fur. "T-Tigerheart!"

The Shadowclan warrior threw back his head and laughed, "The one and only." He blinked down at her, moving his paw so that she could stand up and watched with amusement as she tried to shake the snow from her pelt, though the flakes stuck stubbornly to her despite the effort. "How have you been? I've hardly seen you since we freed the river and filled the lake up."

"Thunderclan's been busy. We've had no time to collect herbs or prey before the first snow. We're scared that Greencough is going to sneak up on us worse than ever this year after the drought," she replied, trying to lick away some of the snow from her chest.

Tigerheart snorted, "I asked how you were, mousebrain. Not how Thunderclan was."

Dovepaw flicked her tail at him, "I am Thunderclan, and Thunderclan is me," she smirked.

The older cat rolled his eyes, tickling her nose with the tip of his tail, "Right . . . So, race you to that tree?"

Before she could reply, he had darted off. Sighing, she chased after him, ready to tell him off for lingering inside Thunderclan territory. But after a few moments, she lost sight of him amidst the falling snow. Panicking at suddenly being left alone again, she tried in vain to listen for him, to no avail. She was a whisker length from the base of the Great Oak when he tackled her to the ground again, rolling her over until she was flat on her back in the snow once more.

"You're not very good at defense are you?" he smiled, biting playfully at her ear.

"Yes I am!" Dovepaw retorted hotly, wiggling out from underneath him. "I just couldn't hear you coming because of all the snow!"

He flicked his ears upwards at the trees, "Really? Maybe you're not listening right. In Shadowclan, we listen to the sounds echoing off the trees instead of trying to hunt for the noise in the snow." He pointed towards the oak with his tail, "Listen close, there's a mouse under one of this tree's roots."

The little she-cat trained her ears to the tree, eyes widening with surprise as she realized he was right. "Ohhh . . . That's so neat! You learned that in Shadowclan?"

Tigerheart laughed, "Sort of. Actually, I hear that's the trick those mountain cats use. But they listen to the stone instead of the trees. It's even quieter up there during Leaf-bare from what I've heard." He smirked slightly, "So, you never answered my question. How have you been?"

She smiled a bit at his persistence, "Fine." Dovepaw paused a moment. There was so much she wanted to tell him, but couldn't. How Ivypaw had been acting weird, and she was starting to get scared of her own sister. How Jayfeather seemed to have lost any hope he might have had for the three of them. How hurt and betrayed he looked when he talked about what happened with Breezepelt. How neither she nor Lionblaze could seem to get through to him. How Lionblaze looked at both Breezepelt and Tigerheart with suspicion in his eyes when he saw them, how she couldn't understand why he wouldn't say anything about it to her. How her dreams were haunted by emerald eyes and a cold smile over the sound of rain and rushing water. She couldn't say any of those things out loud.

"I've missed you."

It was Tigerheart who spoke the words in the silence that had lapsed between them. His amber eyes wavered with uncertainty and something else, as if he was holding back his own inner turmoil as well. "I missed you, so much," he repeated.

Dovepaw stared at him a moment, her heart pounding, "I- I missed you too. You're a good friend."

He looked away, "You know that's not what I meant. You're older now, don't lie and tell me you don't understand."

She shook her head, "Tigerheart . . . You know what happens to cats who have feelings like that. You've seen what it did to Leafpool, and Crowfeather too."

"Are you saying that you don't have those kinds of feelings?" He looked at her out of the corners of his eyes, the hurt clear in their amber depths as he spoke the words. When she didn't reply, he looked away, his shoulders hunched. "Sorry I said anything then, I'm going home now."

Dovepaw felt a flare of alarm in her chest at this, and she jumped in front of him before he could move, "W-wait! Don't just go assuming things when I stay quiet! There are things that are hard to say, things that shouldn't be overheard!"

"And who would overhear us?!" he retorted angrily, "There's no one else here!"

No one would, she thought, I'm the only one who would, and I'm already here. "What do you want me to say then?" she whispered.

He leaned in close, his muzzle brushing against her ear as he spoke, "The truth."

The truth? That she'd been listening to him while she was lying in her nest at night? That she'd been watching him at every gathering? That she'd been secretly happy every time he looked her way or smiled at her, even though she knew it was wrong? "I- I can't . . ."

"Say it," he murmured. "I'll say it first, if you like. I love you, Dovepaw. I love you."

"Please don't . . ." She whispered, "It's wrong. It'll only end badly." She looked up at him, anguish clear in her blue eyes, "Isn't it your orders to kill me? Why would you say something like that, feel something like that!?"

He looked taken aback, "Wh-what? Why would I . . ." His eyes darkened slightly, "Oh . . . Because of Tigerclaw's training. Is that what Lionblaze told you? That I was going to kill you, because you're the only on that can stop me?" He smiled slightly, "I never planned to follow him, Dovepaw. Not after I met you. There are some things . . . That are so much more important than power and ambition."

She shook her head, "We're on opposite sides of this war, we can't . . . You know as well as I that nothing good can come out of a love like-"

"Then you love me?" he interrupted.

"Yes . . ." Was the choked reply. She turned her head away, tears stinging the corners of her eyes. "But you know this can't be! I have a destiny to fulfill, and you do as well. This can not be."

"And yet would you deny a chance to meet me here again? At the next quarter moon?"

Dovepaw blinked, "No . . . I would come all the same."

"Then stop lying and stay, if only for a little while. One night, two, it takes a mistake for any cat to notice. You and I, we're not a mistake," Tigerheart whispered. "So stay."

A faint smile crossed her face, "I'll be our ears, so no one will ever know."

"And I can fight for you," Tigerheart replied smoothly.

_Because someone once told me that great things can come . . . From listening to your heart . . ._

RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE

This is my Christmas gift to all of you little kitties. Thank you so much for all the love and support you bring me just by reading (and reviewing too.) Unfortunately, it's weirdly not slash. D: No slash from the Kari? The world is ending! *le gasp* but don't worry. New updates on Glass Fire Curse soon, as well as Intertwining Stars. Aaannnnddd . . . I plan to start a new one soon too. The long awaited SEQUEL to something you all know and love. Guess. What. It. Is.

. . . . . Here's a hint, the two main characters are . . . Birchfall and Berrynose! :D :D :D

Are you freaking out now? Are you? GOOD! Because the sequel to Taste of Pain is in production! I have some titles to sort through, and a first chapter to write, but then I'll give it to you. :]

I'm thinking the title will be either First Born Frost, Permafrost, Silent Bells, Snow Flurry, or Deep Poison. Which one do you like? (tho I'll probably pick one regardless of what you say. Lol.) I'm sure from half the titles here that you can guess what one of the conflicts in the fic will be. :D

Oh yeah, and the title of THIS fic is indeed named after the Naruto Doujinshi. Lol. In case u recognized it somehow. :]


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